My Why

The first of January is my daughter’s birthday – 1 am. What a nice row of number ones. Now is the time of the year when mommy gets sentimental, weeps, is full of gratitude, and praises nature and medicine. Just re-living those three days and all the emotions. Despite the problems during the delivery, we have a daughter who is a delightful, empathetic, and loving old soul with a fabulous sense of humor. Her temper is rapidly reactive, but she is always ready for a hug. She hums when she is satisfied with her food and has zero tolerance for the sensation of hunger. She is the biggest “why” and my strongest trigger to action. If not for ourselves but her and her peers, we have to help the Earth. There will be generations to fight for and that fight and protection has to begin now.

As protective as parents of most of the species are over their offsprings, it is surprising how little we highly developed humans pay attention to the long-term living conditions of the next generations. We naturally worry about our children’s education, wealth, health, happiness, and status, but the most fundamental one, their forever home, Earth, is ignored. No Earth, no future. Again, if everyday life is a pure struggle, it feels unreasonable to focus on anything extra. But in reality, some of these possible actions to take are so simple that they do not steal our time or energy. They only require our attention before they become choices and later habits. While we humans pushed the planet to the dangerous road, many of us have what it takes to change the direction. We also have the power to help and encourage those who do not have it quite yet.

The human population will keep growing. It has been estimated that by 2100 there will be 10.9 billion people on Earth. Our children and their children will be fighting over their living space. Imagine the number of climate migrants during the next decades. Global warming, rising sea level, and lack of land while a great part of it is used to grow food – cattle – for all these people. Inequality will increase and tensions will arise. How many species – animals and plants- will be extinct in the coming decades? The scary estimate is one-third of them all. What will the next generations think of us when they know that we and our previous generations could have prevented this from happening?

We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

David Brower (perhaps)–

Not all the people fighting for the Earth have kids. People have different motivators. And for those who have children, the greatest kick to action can be something else. I believe the unitive factor among all those who care and wish better for this planet is the capability of being empathetic and compassionate towards something or someone. When we show compassion to the Earth, we show it to every single one of us.

Featured picture: ArtTower from Pixabay